TV Timeout

I love to watch TV. It is a very relaxing (non)activity for me. I don't have a lot of different "must see" shows, but I do like the routine of having a few favorites that I know exactly what time they come on and which channel to find them. TV is pretty much my social life. I don't think that is a good thing.....but my TV friends are pretty low maintenance and for now, in this busy season of my life, I am really okay with that.

We are not able to get any signal from an antenna here....which in the HD crazed age is actually a bonus. So in order to get TV...we had to get a dish. We have had DishNetwork for the last 8 years. The first two years that we lived here we had no TV at all. It was the time of self-denial...and self-pity for some of our family members (myself and the boy). John could care less about TV. He likes to watch football but he is not enslaved by it. In some ways I envy his lack of interest. I am sure I could and would be much more productive if I didn't choose to unwind in front of the tube. (It probably isn't even a tube anymore!)

So, in an effort to please all of the family members we have had somewhat of a compromise with the TV in the last few years. During football, and perhaps even more importantly during the winter months when the sun sets at 4:30, we upgrade our TV programming to include ESPN. Of course, you can't just add ESPN but you have to get an upgraded "package" that includes ESPN. It also includes the Hallmark channel, Disney, HGTV (OH yeah!), TNT, AMC.....the list goes on and on. It is the only thing that I look forward to in the winter. The compromise is that when football and winter (meaning the short days) are over, we scale back to getting only the networks. It saves some money....it decreases the access to Spongebob Squarepants (bonus) and it gives me something to look forward to in the winter. The system has been a good one.

Last week, when John was in Montana. I bribed Cole. I am not proud of it. I try not to make a habit of it. But it was effective and I can't say that I am sorry.

I needed to clean the basement....which is a generous and kind euphemism for our cellar. It houses all the spiders in the area and, although never proven, has to be a hot spot for snakes.
I am not a complete sissy about going down there to get things out of the freezer or get canning supplies....but then again...that is why I have a boy so I don't actually have to go down there.
But when I decided it was time, I knew the boy could not clean the basement on his own. So I told him that if he helped me and had a good attitude about it....we would call and upgrade our programming to the winter programs. The shameful part is this....he hasn't quite figured out the system and actually it was time to upgrade anyway...cuz, well, football has started.

Cole was extremely excited, helped all afternoon and had a great attitude. We cleaned out the chest freezer in anticipation for the pork that we had processed - one of Cole's 4-H piggies. We set up some wire shelves that I had purchased a month ago. We organized some....junk. We threw away some....junk. We saw lots of spiders. It was a very satisfying afternoon.

So, in order to honor my bribe, I called DishNetwork to upgrade to the package that we usually get in the "winter". I have the toll free number memorized. It is an easy number to remember.
I typically get to talk to someone in India. But that day....I talked to someone in Arizona and he did some fast talking and when I hung up the phone....I was a Direct TV customer with a new DVR coming my way. I am still not sure how that happened. Remember, John was gone. I tried to recount all the reasons why this was a good move to him later but I couldn't remember all of the twists and turns. Truthfully, I think the guy had me at DVR. As you might recall I was quite sad that I did not have a DVR during the Olympics....I must have still had some residual regret about that and now we not only have a DVR, but a new Direct TV dish on the roof, another hole in the wall behind the TV and 265 channels that are totally different than my old faithful system. It is like a disaster struck the neighborhood and all my friends are relocated and I don't know where to start looking for them! I am trying to stay calm.

So, right now I am taking a TV timeout.

But now that we have a DVR that is set to record my favorite shows that I could find so far....it's not really like a timeout....more like a pause.